CHICOPEE, MA -- Lesley overcame a 12-point first half deficit to take a brief two-point second half lead, but couldn't hold on against host Elms College, falling 73-68 Saturday afternoon in New England Collegaite Conference men's basketball play.
On the heels of a career-high 30 points less than 48 hours ago, senior guard John Sanchez led all players with 29 points.
After a pair of Bryant Itonyo jumpers and a Sanchez basket pulled the Lynx to within 10-7, an Elms 7-0 run sent the Blazers out in front 17-7 at the 14:00 mark of the first. Sanchez scored six straight, the first four at the line, to make it a four-point game with 11:00 left in the half.
The Blazers rallied to go back up by double digits with an Andre French three-pointer providing the largest lead of the half at 12 points at the 8:00 mark. Sanchez and the Lynx battled back, as he scored seven points in a span of 4:30 late in the half to cut the Blazers lead to 34-30 at the break.
The Carson, CA product led all players with 15 points on 4-8 shooting and 7-8 shooting from the charity stripe. Itonyo added eight points on 3-5 shooting, including 2-4 from three-point range, and on the opening possession out of halftime, he pulled the Lynx to within one with his third trey of the day.
Three more times over the next five minutes would the Lynx cut the lead back down to a point before finally breaking through. Itonyo's fifth trey of the game and third in the first six minutes of the second half gave Lesley its first lead at 44-42 with 14:09 to play, forcing a Blazers timeout.
A 7-0 Elms run midway through the period would separate the home team. Starting with a Darius Griffin jumper at the 10:17 mark, four different Blazers chipped in on an 8-0 run that lifted Elms back on top 55-48 with under 7:00 to play.
Sanchez, though, refused to go quietly. His three free throws and a breakaway layup off his own steal had the lead back down to three. After a Daniel Gonzalez jumper, Sanchez cashed in on his first three-point attempt of the afternoon, which made it a two-point game at 58-56 with 4:42 to go.
French made sure things didn't get any more interesting. He answered with a pair of jumpers that put Elms ahead by seven, and the Blazers led by four or more the rest of the way. The Blazers guard finished with a team-high 20 points on 3-8 shooting from deep as Elms prevailed 73-68.
David McDaniel added 18 points for the Blazers and Gonzalez finished with nine as Elms improved to 11-7 overall and 6-3 in the NECC.
After setting a new career high with 30 points on 13-14 shooting at the line and 3-3 from distance in the Lynx 73-67 win at Mitchell on Thursday, Sanchez fell just a point short of tying it in nearly as efficient an effort. He converted his only three-point attempt and knocked down 10-12 free throws for his 29 points, leading the team with three assists.
Itonyo followed Sanchez, finishing with 17 points on 5-9 shooting from downtown and pulled down five rebounds. Forward Kris Bennett overcame a three-point effort on 3-8 shooting at the free throw line by leading all players with a career-high 15 rebounds. Fellow sophomore Mike Kaufman added seven points and six boards as the Lynx fell to 7-10 and 4-6 in NECC play.
Lesley returns to play on Tuesday in out-of-conference action against Plymouth State.